Welcome to the VIBRANT LIVING NEWSLETTER

Hopefully you all survived the Thanksgiving holiday without overdoing it, and for those of you elsewhere in the world I don’t think you missed a thing. Not that I’m not into a day of gratitude spent with friends and family, I just feel the true meaning is lost at times and that each day we have the opportunity to be grateful for everything in our lives.

In this issue of Vibrant Living I’m proud to announce several new web pages with great info to help you on your raw journey. There are many new recipes on the website, with links through the pages below. There are two articles, “What is health?” and “Why Should I Buy Organic?”, also the usual quotes and tidbits for your reading enjoyment. So Enjoy!

Please take a little time and share your raw food testimony. You need not be 100% raw to share a testimony; the fact is most people on the raw diet are not 100% anyway. Your story may inspire someone else, perhaps from the other side of the globe, to give the raw food diet a try.
Success stories.

Please send me your health questions, they can be submitted anonymously if you prefer, and you may help someone else improve their health and quality life.
Your questions.

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Walter Breuning the World's Oldest Man just celebrated his 114 birthday in Montana this year. His secret to long life was to stop overeating, he started eating just two meals per day at age 66. He says "overeating is the number one killer in America."

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Why should I buy organic food?

Buying organic products is important not only for the higher quality, but also for the impact on our economy and environment. And as we support the organic farmers, particularly small local farms at your local farmer’s market prices will come down.

Whenever possible, try to buy organic foods from local farmers
for the following reasons:

1. Pesticides and herbicides are poisons designed to kill living organisms, and they can also harm humans in a multitude of nasty ways. They may not kill us right out, but are part of the slow death we in the developed world call disease.

2. Organic foods have better flavor and nutritional value despite what some studies funded by agricultural corporations may say. Organic food also posses life force not present in conventionally grown foods. There's a good reason why many chefs use organic foods in their recipes; they taste better.

3. To protect our water supply. Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides eventually end up in our water supply only to be ingested again and again by unsuspecting people.

4. Promote biodiversity. Growing one crop year after year has left the soil lacking natural minerals and nutrients. Small organic farmers practice crop rotation and soil building techniques.

5. Lower energy consumption. Conventional farming consumes 12 percent of the country's total energy supply. More energy is used to produce chemical fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest crops in North America. Small organic farms use labor-intensive practices, cover crops, natural fertilizers, and rock dust instead of chemical fertilizers.

6. The future of the planet and future generations depends on good stewardship by all of us here and now. Children’s health can be compromised more quickly and seriously by the effects of pesticides than adults.

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"If you want a kinder world, then behave with kindness; if you want a peaceful world, make peace within."
Dan Millman
Writer and Speaker

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What is health?

What does it mean to say you are healthy?

Many people will say they are healthy even though they may not be fully enjoying life because they cannot physically, mentally, or emotionally live their life as they would like on a daily basis. Many of these same people may have a medicine cabinet bursting with prescription drugs, but will still say they are healthy.

Did you know that in 1950 only around 6,000 people in the USA were diagnosed with depression but that in 2008 more than 164 MILLION prescriptions for antidepressants were written? That’s roughly half the population. Rather alarming isn’t it.
I tell you this to illustrate my point…Health is a relative term which means different things to different people.

To me this is what good health should look like:

• When you wake in the morning you’re fully rested, not still tired, but ready to take on the day.

• You can, on any day you choose, push your body to its limits either physically or mentally and actually enjoy the activity, and you can recover quickly from the event.

• You truly have a strong internal energy that is a driving force providing you with a zest for life.

• Your immune system functions well enough to keep you free of most of the things everyone else always come down with. Yes, occasionally we all get hit with one, but it should be very infrequent.

• You should really not need the services of a doctor other than an annual checkup or if you have an accident.

What are some of the things we can do that will provide good health?

• Well you know I feel eating right is number one. Giving your body high quality fuel and nutrients is super important. A diet comprised of somewhere between 70% to 80% raw foods will provide just that.

• Exercise of some sort 6 days a week. It could be walking, gardening, or time at the gym, or any activity that keeps you moving for at least ½ hr per day and more if you can. Some type of resistance exercise 3 times per week is important also.

• Fresh air and sunshine are keys to great health. Years ago in the sanatoriums of Europe, those two things combined with fresh juices and raw foods were the cornerstones of health, and produced remarkable “healings”. Getting out in nature is a double good thing.

• Remove some of the stressors from your life. This means not living on your cell phone, ipod, notebook, computer etc. all day long. And realize that 90% of the things we worry about never come to fruition anyway, so time spent worrying not only took up valuable time, but compromised your health as well.

• Work on carrying a positive attitude throughout your days. Attitude is everything. Each day when you get up you can decide to have a great day or a miserable day. They require the same energy, so why not have a great day. Challenges and unkind people will pop up, but it is how you handle it that matters. Until you get this ingrained in your daily routine put up a few ‘post it notes’ that say “Attitude” as a reminder. This one principle of positivity will change your life in amazing ways if it becomes habit.

• Show your loved ones as much kindness and respect as you do to a friend, co-worker, or total stranger. Work on strengthening the loving relationships in your life.

• Quality sleep, meaning enough each night that you wake up naturally before the alarm goes.

We all need to take control of our own health by the actions we take every day. It’s our choices today that will create our health tomorrow. More specifically it is our actions that will produce those results. If we want to be healthy and happy long term then NOW is the time to consciously choose and act on the things that will provide the results we wish to see.

Be Well and Wonderful my Friends.

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What is this resveratrol I keep hearing much about?

Found in organic grapes, red wine, pine tree bark and other plants, such as Japanese knotweed (polygonum cuspidatum), resveratrol is a phytochemical that research has shown to play a role in the prevention of cancer, the prevention of heart disease and in the antiaging process. Other scientists have found evidence that it prevents heart disease, helps keep weight under control, normalizes cholesterol levels and may prevent diabetes and even blindness. Read on to learn more about resveratrol and its many benefits.

Red grapes produce a phytochemical called resveratrol, which protects them from ultraviolet radiation, fungus infections, and other stressors. Resveratrol activates anti-aging genes that stimulate the production of proteins that circulate in your body, throwing overboard cells that aren't pulling their weight and rejuvenating cells damaged by advanced glycation end-products (AGEs).

- Dr. Steven R. Gundry, Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution: Turn Off the Genes That Are Killing You - And Your Waistline - And Drop the Weight for Good

A large body of research supports the role of resveratrol in resisting cancer, inflammation and heart disease. Resveratrol has been found to suppress the activation of inflammatory cytokines and COX-2, and shows special promise in preventing and slowing the progression of breast cancer. Resveratrol is also a potent antioxidant.

In controlled studies, resveratrol has been shown to reduce skin cancer tumors by up to 98 percent, to stop production of leukemia cells. In addition, it works as a Cox inhibitor, thus halting the spread of cancer throughout the body.

- Jon Barron,Lessons from The Miracle Doctors: A Step-by-Step Guide to Optimum Health and Relief from Catastrophic Illness

Many red fruits and vegetables contain resveratrol. Rich sources include grapes, grape juice and red wine. According to Dr. James Howenstine, author of A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work, 20 mg of resveratrol daily provides maximal health benefits. Red wine has 0.2 mg per glass. Since drinking 100 glasses of wine would prove toxic indeed, wine is definitely not the best source of this nutrient!

The contents of my website and my newsletter are gleaned from my experiences and observations, meant only for educational purposes and not intended to replace medical advice, consultations, or treatment of any kind. I recommend you see your professional health care provider if you suspect you have an illness or disease of any kind. I'm not medically trained, and I would never suggest or imply that I know what is best for someone else's body or overall health, ultimately each of us is the only one who knows what's best for us.

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